Preparation for the OLSAT^®, CogAT^®, Naglieri (NNAT^®), TAG, GATE test, and other standardized gifted and talented testing with Kindergarten Test Study System

For what age and tests is Kindergarten Test Study System (KTSS) intended?

KTSS prepares children ages 4 - 5 for standardized ability tests given as part of an assessment for placement in gifted and talented kindergarten or first grade programs.

To meet the varying developmental needs of children this age, KTSS can be tailored to be somewhat difficult or significantly easier. Children will learn the same important concepts, regardless of whether they are able to answer the difficult versions of the questions or whether they require additional help.

Is test preparation ethical? 

Anyone who is being tested has a right to prepare for, or at least be informed about, that test.  However, anyone who provides test preparation is responsible for protecting the integrity of that test.  To develop and provide appropriate and ethical test preparation, KTSS was developed in consultation with members of the ethics committees of The American Psychological Association and the National Council on Measurement in Education.  Prior to commercial release, KTSS was shared with the company that publishes the OLSAT^® and the WPPSI^® to ensure that these tests remain secure.  These efforts assure that KTSS doesn’t invalidate a test and create inflated and spurious test scores. 

Why is it important that KTSS follows ethical guidelines? 

Adherence to ethical guidelines assures parents that their children will not have been prepared in a way that's inappropriate.  Inappropriate test preparation occurs when children are given actual test material, or material that is so purposefully similar to test material, that test results are meaningless.  Test examiners can sometimes detect if a child has been prepared inappropriately, and computer-scored test protocols can sometimes show evidence of statistically improbable response patterns.  Whether detected or not, inappropriate test preparation can have unfortunate consequences.         

How does KTSS encourage children to persist when faced with difficult questions?

Unless children have been familiarized with difficult questions, they sometimes give random, silly, or hasty answers even if they otherwise could work through difficult questions and give correct answers.  KTSS can be tailored to be as difficult as is required to give children practice handling difficult questions.  Also, research shows that, for children, persistence on tests can be increased by the type of feedback an adult gives a child while they're working through a challenging problem. The typical things that parents may say to encourage their child (e.g., "that's right," "you're doing so well") are okay but they don't encourage persistence. The adult's script in KTSS is very specific in giving feedback that's been found to encourage persistence and help children do their best.

Do you make any guarantee about my child's test performance if I use KTSS?

The truth about test preparation-- all test preparation-- is that there’s no worthwhile evidence that it can significantly “get results,” or “gets kids in” to programs (Wall Street Journal, 5/20/09).  Making these claims is inherently misleading because it’s difficult to collect accurate data. 

What test preparation can do, if it’s done right, is overcome barriers that can prevent children from doing their best on a test.  In other words, you can think of test preparation as practice that can rid your child of impediments that can mask his or her true ability.  

 Is it necessary to prepare my child for testing?

No. Without any preparation a child can perform extremely well. Test preparation is not necessary, but it may be useful. KTSS can prevent children from being held back from giving their best performance due to lack of familiarity with key critical thinking skills or due to lack of persistence when confronting difficult material. Although preparation may be useful, no amount of appropriate test preparation will make a child with average-range ability appear to have superior ability. 

How accurate are tests for kids this age anyway? 

Kids this age are not prime candidates for ability testing.  Although testing can help identify some bright young children who may benefit from accelerated academic programs, cognition is still in development and test results are to be taken with a grain of salt.  In fact, descriptions of the childhoods of Albert Einstein and Winston Churchill suggest that they would have done poorly on such testing, and wouldn't have done well in any sort of accelerated academic program in their younger years.  If your child doesn't do well on this test, it may leave you with some practical problems of where to go to school next year, but just know that your child is in very good company. 

When is the best time to start using KTSS to prepare for testing?

It's usually good to start 3-8 weeks prior to the test date.  Most children benefit from short periods of practice, usually about 15 minutes, that spans a few weeks.

Does my child need to be able to read to be tested?

No. Reading ability is not assumed or required for the versions of the tests that are used to assess children entering kindergarten and first grade. Similarly, KTSS assumes no reading ability.

Is my child at a disadvantage if he is a "young 4" (e.g., will turn 4 in December) when compared with "older 4's" (e.g., turned 4 last January and soon will be turning 5)?

This is an understandable concern, because at this age, a year can make a big difference in a child's cognitive development. However, standardized tests administered to young children have extensive normative data, and the normative groups are based on age in MONTHS, not years. A child who is 4 years and 0 months can be placed in a different normative group than a child who is 4 years and 11 months. In other words, children are compared with others who are very close in age.

Because children of different ages with different levels of cognitive development prepare for these tests, KTSS can be tailored to meet the needs of children in varying stages of cognitive development.